Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

[Btr_ftw]

I don't care what Tesla's policy on purchasing parts for the car are, that does not concern me as their prices would be too high anyways. If I successfully repair this car and it burns down in a ball of fire, I will be the FIRST person to say


"Hey, I improperly repaired this vehicle and as a result I have caused harm. I have nobody to blame but myself, this has nothing to do with Tesla or their wonderful products, but my carelessness in repairing a vehicle I have no business repairing, thank GOD for Tesla's parts restriction policy to save us from ourselves"

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I agree.

Part of the reason I got hysterically angry at you guys is feeling punished for something I had no involvement in, and that wrath was hoping to express to Tesla that not everyone is going to go about repairing vehicles so carelessly.



Have you noticed that the parts ban is also damaging their own brand?

This "Tesla is out to screw us" sentiment is a different kind of brand damage, and one probably equally as detrimental as the media's yellow journalism.

You need the support of tinkerers to succeed in the automotive industry. It is far too early in Tesla's tenure to be closing the door on such a vital and important market segment.

Then also the current design making it such that any slight damage totals the car and goes for auction at 1/10 the retail value in salvage auctions is going to put the hurt on insurance companies who then will raise premiums on the model S, and make it impractical to own a Tesla vehicle in that sense.

I view it opposite, it's to early to open it up. I doubt tesla plans to have a parts ban forever. I think it's a supply and demand. If you were to stockpile parts then Tesla is competing for resources. And the upside is they are able to protect the brand which protects owners interests. Your taking about pissing of very few people in comparison to becoming another delorian or bricklin

 

[satoshi]

If I successfully repair this car and it burns down in a ball of fire, I will be the FIRST person to say

The problem is not your intention, the problem is that most likely the media will jump at the story without giving you the opportunity to clarify the situation.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I don't care what Tesla's policy on purchasing parts for the car are, that does not concern me as their prices would be too high anyways. If I successfully repair this car and it burns down in a ball of fire, I will be the FIRST person to say


"Hey, I improperly repaired this vehicle and as a result I have caused harm. I have nobody to blame but myself, this has nothing to do with Tesla or their wonderful products, but my carelessness in repairing a vehicle I have no business repairing, thank GOD for Tesla's parts restriction policy to save us from ourselves"

I 100 percent agree. I do work on my own vehicles. My only issue is the people saying Tesla is in the wrong here. That part I back Tesla's decision at this point in their make or break state

 

[tga]

What bothers me is all the " Tesla in out to screw us " angles people are preaching. This isn't the 1930's when news didn't cross county lines. This is the instant Information Age when a car burns to the ground after a supercharger is plugged in kills a company age. Tesla is protecting the brand for a greater good, because the downside is catastrophic not only for tesla, but every tesla owner, ev owner, and man kind. Tesla dose have the legal right In protecting there brand ,image , and the obligation to protect the human life in a Tesla car.

That logic can't last. Ford, GM, et al have no problem selling me any fuel system component I would like to replace, regardless of my skill level. If I screw up and die in a flaming ball of leaky fuel death, no one blames the parts manufacturer.

 

[satoshi]

That part I back Tesla's decision at this point in their make or break state

I think Tesla is now slightly past the make or break state... I think they are over that hump.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I think Tesla is now slightly past the make or break state... I think they are over that hump.

Maybe, but to Tesla it might be smooth production of the Model 3 to the masses

 

[Btr_ftw]

The problem is not your intention, the problem is that most likely the media will jump at the story without giving you the opportunity to clarify the situation.

well hopefully you will stand by me in spreading the word of a situation that has never happened

 

[satoshi]

well hopefully you will stand by me in spreading the word of a situation that has never happened

Absolutely.

 

[Btr_ftw]

Check out this big ass pack fuse right here.

I mean its huuuuge.

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Here is the big fuse next to an ice cube tray for size reference

Here is the big fuse on top of said ice cube tray to further reference

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

Holy crap

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I'm actually surprised it's not passively cooled with fins or a heat sink

 

[JRP3]

And the upside is they are able to protect the brand which protects owners interests.

So how is forcing people to use potentially damaged used parts in their repairs "protecting" the brand? You act is if not selling parts is going to stop people from doing something, which is clearly not the case. The lack of service manuals is also not "protecting" anything since it forces people to come up with their own ways of doing things instead of using proper procedures. Simply put, Tesla's lack of support actually increases risks to the company on a number of fronts.

 

[Fuzzylogic]

I'm actually surprised it's not passively cooled with fins or a heat sink

I was wondering that myself, but it's only 0,0001358 ohm.
So at 630A it will dissipate 630^2 * 0,0001358 = 54 Watt.

 

[kennybobby]

The breaking curves for that fuse indicate it is good for ~1700 Amps for 30 seconds.

 

[Ingineer]

They routinely put 1300A though it for a handful of seconds on P85D's. (that's about 230w dissipation!) Apparently though it was "nuisance" tripping on the Ludicrous firmware (1500A), so they developed the active fuse system.

Ludicrous would be pulsing over 300W through it, so it's easy to see that thermal stress could work on it until it blows.

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The breaking curves for that fuse indicate it is good for ~1700 Amps for 30 seconds.

But how many times will it do that before it blows is the question?

 

[smac]

They routinely put 1300A though it for a handful of seconds on P85D's. (that's about 230w dissipation!) Apparently though it was "nuisance" tripping on the Ludicrous firmware (1500A), so they developed the active fuse system.

Ludicrous would be pulsing over 300W through it, so it's easy to see that thermal stress could work on it until it blows.

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But how many times will it do that before it blows is the question?

Even the S60 pulls 800A for a number of seconds, so they were pushing the curve a bit on that fuse really across the model range.

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Having said that, I'd suspect that if someone were to disassemble a more recent vintage MS, the entire center console is probably a much different design given that current MS's weigh hundreds of pounds less than the early MS's. As Elon has stated, they make "about 20 hardware changes a week" to our cars, "many of which will likely not be noticed."

Trying to find the diagnostic connector on 3 model S's , 2 of which were 2016 cars, peering in behind the cubby the framework all seems the same back there.

Strangely though the welding seemed neater on my "pre AP car" and it had less rust on the steel work behind the cubby. Maybe they have shaved some weight by painting less of the bits you don't see?

 

[TSLA Pilot]

There has not been any independent verification of that as far as I know.

Incorrect. On errands, but will report/document same later this week unless someone beats me to it.

Just some examples include entirely new rear subframe design (probably worth dozens or nearly 100 pounds), and the front heat exchanger crossmember (from metal to composite, IIRC), and many dozens of others.

When F=MA, every gram counts . . . .

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New to the thread so haven't started at the start. But I'm surprised Tesla didn't want to purchase this car. Possible they have purchased a flooded car before to do some R&D on. Or maybe a few engineers are subscribed to this thread already for free.

Actually, I know of a SC that inspected a partially submerged MS in mid-2014 just for that reason. Dropped the battery to inspect and provided a preliminary "all clear" on the battery given their limited inspection (car was already totalled; it was more of a just "let's take a look for HQ" look-see). Don't know if they inspected anything else.

Body water intrusion was easily sourced at the rear exhaust HVAC air vents (2 each, behind rear bumper sides) as they do a very poor job keeping water out (which, technically, is beyond their job description).

Car's frunk area high-water mark was the coolant heater top edge for those curious about such things.

Just FYI.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

They routinely put 1300A though it for a handful of seconds on P85D's. (that's about 230w dissipation!) Apparently though it was "nuisance" tripping on the Ludicrous firmware (1500A), so they developed the active fuse system.

Ludicrous would be pulsing over 300W through it, so it's easy to see that thermal stress could work on it until it blows.

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But how many times will it do that before it blows is the question?

Many fuse element designs are created to allow for high inrush currents, with no damage to them. Many also, are designed to allow for significant heating and cooling cycles (see solar power fuses as example). I'm not familiar with this particular fuse, but I'll see if I can pull the time/current curves for it (It appears that kennybobby may have already done so).

 

[scaesare]

The problem is not your intention, the problem is that most likely the media will jump at the story without giving you the opportunity to clarify the situation.

I, for one, am not inclined to let what the sensationalist press opts to write dictate what I can do with my own property and/or whom I share information with.